New Delhi (AFP) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he told Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow should “end this war of aggression” and “engage in meaningful diplomacy” when the two met briefly at the G20 meeting in New Delhi, India.
Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) (AFP) – Rescuers scour the ruins of an apartment block in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after a Russian strike which local authorities say killed at least three people, hospitalising another seven. “Angels saved her” says Yana, whose mother was pulled unscathed from the rubble.
Giza Necropolis (Egypt) (AFP) – A nine-metre-long tunnel discovered hidden in the Great Pyramid of Giza could be “protecting the actual burial chamber of King Khufu”, says Zahi Hamass, an archaeologist and former Egyptian state Minister of Antiquities Affairs. The discovery was made as part of the ScanPyramids project, led by Cairo University and the French HIP Institute, which aims to scan the ancient monuments to find previously unknown internal features.
Havana (AFP) – Enthusiasts learn the art of Cuban cigar rolling in a master class in Havana, being hosted at the 23rd Habano Festival which celebrates the island nation’s tobacco industry. According to Habanos S.A, Cuba exported $568 million worth of cigars in 2021. However, since September 2022, the industry has been rebuilding after Hurricane Ian struck the island, decimating tobacco production.
Luxembourg (AFP) – Laura Kovesi, the EU’s first anti-fraud prosecutor, says her office — the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) — is ready to help investigate criminals circumventing EU sanctions imposed on Russia. “We have signed a working arrangement with the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office” she says, adding that “there is fraud everywhere in Europe.”
New Delhi (AFP) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, greeted by his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar. IMAGES
New Delhi (AFP) – US Secretary of State Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov are in the same room for the first time since July 2022, at a G20 ministerial meeting in India, where their Chinese counterpart is also attending. The delegates held a minute of silence in tribute to Turkey and Syria quake victims. IMAGES
New Delhi (AFP) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrives at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, greeted by his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar. IMAGES
New Delhi (AFP) – Chinese Foreign minister Qin Gang arrives at a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, greeted by his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar.
Jandairis (Syria) (AFP) – In a displacement camp surrounded by collapsed buildings, Firas al-Ahmed, dressed a clown, volunteers to entertain children who were left homeless by the February 6 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Jandairis, in an attempt to “alleviate their fears after the panic they went through”.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says the intensity of fighting was “only increasing” near the frontline city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine that has seen months of heavy battles. “Russia does not count the number of people it sends to constantly assault our positions at all. The intensity of the fighting is only increasing,” Zelensky says in his evening address to the nation.
Puno (Peru) (AFP) – Peruvian police officers and members of the Ministry of Culture find a pre-Hispanic mummy in the isothermal bag of an ex-delivery man in Puno, who refers to her as his “spiritual girlfriend”. The man will remain in detention while investigators look into the case, a government official told AFP.
